

You can watch a candle-lighting ceremony and a Buddhist worship ritual. Three Kings Monument: It is the place where the majority of activities take place.Nawarat Bridge on the Ping River: This is where most of the Chiang Mai locals go to release their khom loi sky lanterns as well as their krathong floating lanterns on the nearby Ping River.There are many places to join the festival and release lanterns, paid or free. If you want to enjoy the festival like the locals, you can go to the Ping River, Three Kings Monument, and Thapae Gate. Where are the best places to experience Yi Peng lantern release in Chiang Mai? In 2022, the Chiang Mai Yi Peng Festival will be held on November 8-9th, 2022. It usually coincides with Loy Krathong Festival.Ĩ. Yi Peng Festival is usually celebrated in November every year.
Ping lantern full#
It takes place on the full moon night of the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar (usually in November in the Western calendar). Yi means 'two' and Peng means 'full moon day', which refers to the date of this celebration. When is the Yee Peng Lantern Festival 2022 in Chiang Mai? It is celebrated in northern Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai. It was traditionally celebrated to mark the end of the monsoon season and the beginning of the cool season. Thai people release lanterns into the air at Yi Peng Lantern Festival. Yi Peng Lantern Festival is an ancient festive event tracing back to the ancient Lanna Kingdom (in the late 13th Century). We've put together all things you need to know about this romantic festival in Chiang Mai. Perhaps the project, now seeking funding for mass production, is the answer to helping this beautiful and fun tradition continue safely.Yi Peng Lantern Festival (sometimes written as Yee Peng) in Chiang Mai is world-famous for its enchanting sight of thousands of lit lanterns rising into the night’s sky over Chiang Mai. The goal is to reduce residue and lower fire risk caused by smouldering lantern skeletons. It replaces the bamboo frame and brown burning paper with recycled pulp that burns out completely in the air.

Although community groups and volunteers head out to retrieve the lanterns for small rewards, it’s not a perfect system.Ī local group called Bank of Culture has developed an eco-friendly sky lantern. Although you can release sky lanterns any day of the year, Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival (24 September this year) are the most popular periods for the tradition.īut there are downsides to the ritual: burnt-out lanterns come down as litter to pollute the hills and rivers, while the lit lanterns are fire hazards and can be dangerous for nocturnal animals. This became the Lantern Festival, now Pingxi’s most important cultural event, held on the 15th day of the first lunar month (19 February next year). When the worst of the winter had passed, sky lanterns were flown to signal that it was safe for them to return. Villagers often took to the mountains to escape these dangers in winter. The tradition dates back to the Qing dynasty, when Pingxi was a remote but affluent district that had to deal with bandits. It’s a mesmerising scene, and there’s also the warm and fuzzy feeling knowing the lanterns are carrying your wishes. It gets lit, the heat propelling it upwards to join the other lanterns glowing in the velvety darkness.

Paraffin-soaked brown paper is attached in the centre. Each standard lantern, almost the height of a person, is constructed with four rice paper sheets glued to a bamboo hoop at the bottom. Visitors just have to buy a lantern from one of the many shops specialising in them, and the shopkeepers provide ink to write a message and even help you take pictures as you send it to the skies. This is the main reason tourists come to Pingxi, located about two hours by train from central Taipei. But the most dazzling scene came later, when my three friends and I released a sky lantern with our wishes written on it. Rows of traditional shophouses ran parallel to the rail that brought me there, the retro snack stores, bric-a-brac shops and food stalls transporting me back to 1950s Taiwan. I’ll never forget my first sight of Pingxi.
